From Darkness
by Golden1willow
Summary: When a young Decepticon is adopted by Team Prime, he's shy to accept the love and care he was previously deprived of. But will he be able to choose between his old and new life when a long lost loved one comes looking for him? DreadwingxOC - Ultra MagnusxOC - Lots of OCs - Orion Pax - vague at first Rated T for violence and dark themes ;n; terrible at sums
1. Prologue- He Left

Prologue: He left

It is dark.

The air is stiff.

But most of all it is possibly THE worst day of a young one's life.

Soldiers and lieutenants lined up to bid their commander farewell, all standing straight and stone still with puffed chests and high-held chins. The space bridge that would transport from this ship to the one he was recently assigned to shone brightly as he entered the room, closely followed by his medic and original team -a five bot party- .

The lined bots saluted formally to the departing group, who in turn paused to do the same.

"Take care commander," a slender mech purred with bright purple optics that pierced through the darkness to reach the tall figure standing before him. The dark husk of his superior was like a black hole sitting in a pool of light. His silhouette came with a pair of bright red optics that dared anyone to challenge him. With a simple flick of his round audio receptors, the commander ordered his group through the bridge.

He soon moved to follow his subordinates, but stopped mid-turn to shift his attention towards a small cry that rang through the corridor.

A tiny mechling, white in color, was sprinting his way towards them. Several of the lined bots questioned his presence, while others simply hissed in annoyance. The slender mech sneered, watching as the tiny body tripped and slid the rest of his way towards the parting commander.

Laughter broke out, flooding the room only for a brief moment before it was silenced by the wave of a hand.

Kneeling down, the commander helped the young bot to his feet. Tears streamed down the mechling's newly scraped cheeks. His tiny body shook as he sobbed and clung to the larger mech's digit as if it were his own spark.

"Please," his voice shook as terribly as his fragile frame, "don't go… please." He cried.

The commander's piercing gaze softened. He stroked his sparkling's cheek, wiping away tears that pained his spark to see. He truly did not wish to leave the young Decepticon, especially not with a group so barbaric and cruel to the weak, but he had to go, for no one else had the experience it took to coordinate vicious battles, and he could not let his troops be slaughtered. It was his duty to serve.

Finally, a deep, rich purr crawled from the commander's vocals. "Pruin, I cannot stay, and I cannot bring you." He said quietly, "It is too dangerous for one so young." The mechling looked up with large, blue, terrified optics. "But trust me, I will return. Just promise me you'll keep that spark of yours." With a gentle tap to the mechling's fragile chest, he pulled his servo away and stood up, once again taking his place as third commander of the Decepticon army.

Without another word, nor another glance, he made his way to the portal and disappeared to the other side for what would seem like forever. The bridge disappeared soon after, along with the high held chins and formal faces, replaced with wicked grins and dark gazes that have waited long to reveal themselves. The troops filtered messily from the room with haste, led by the slim mech. eventually leaving the small youngling to stand alone in the darkness. He fell to his knees, tears streaming down his face as he stared at the spot where the commander had just been a few nano-kliks before.

He was gone.

His sire… had truly left him behind.


	2. Welcome To Earth

The lights were out, the air quiet and still. Their ship was meant to hold about a dozen Autobots, but after fighting countless battles, their numbers had dropped to just four, however, they were expecting to meet with allies very soon. Hopefully they were still alive.

Two Delta Crew members occupied the helm, scanning for enemies and allies alike while preparing to receive anything over the com., particularly from their leader Optimus Prime.

Meanwhile, two recently captured prisoners were being guarded. Although there wasn't much to do but watch. One was unconscious, and had been that way ever since they found him abandoned on a frozen planet. His buddy, however was a creep.

Standing tall and thin, he was like a child's nightmare with those long, sharp claws for fingers. He hasn't said a word nor moved a muscle—except the occasional turn of his head- since he was taken captive. His purple-red husk was well maintained, almost gleaming, while the other appeared as though he'd been chewed up by a Predacon.

The one guard watching the two, shivered from across the room. He wanted to leave so badly. Never did he think it possible to be bored and nervous at the same time. NOTHING WAS HAPPENING. And yet, with that _thing_ just _standing _there…

He had a long, thin neck.

Long, thin arms.

Long, thin torso.

Long, thin legs.

And that FACE.

_Oh PRIMUS!_

It was but a pitch black visor displaying two yellow dots for –what appeared to be—optics.

Meanwhile, Groundfaze had gotten the task of watching a sparkling.

Unbelievable!

That dim cluts couldn't watch an elderly prune, much less a s_parkling._ How the Decepticons even had sparklings was yet to be explained. Such a find was indeed strange, for the possibility of having a sparkling was nonexistent ever since the loss of the AllSpark eons ago when the 'Cons had started to gain the upper hand in war.

Not like Sideswipe cared, he was bored out of his mind. All there was to do as a guard was watch a 'con vegetate on a medical berth while the others did something that actually mattered, or was at least interesting.

The guard turned his attention to the floor, then the wall, then the ceiling, ANYTHING that could possibly be more interesting than_this _sad excusefor a task.

Much to his relief, the unsteady clunk of familiar pedes was once again heard down the hall. The guard perked his gleaming silver head up as a cream colored mech limped into the somewhat abandoned med bay with a tray full of energon cubes.

"Aw _sweet!_" the guard purred, "I was starting to get rumbles in my tan-"

"These aren't for you, Sideswipe." Notch cut flatly.

"What? Then who-"

"The Decepticon."

Sideswipe dropped his jaw in disbelief as the medic in training tapped at a grey, scar littered helm resting on the medical berth.

"_What?!"_

"His energon reserves are nearly gone. If we don't give him something soon he'll die of starvation." Notch's reply was flat as always.

The 'Con started to stir from the taps on his head. He managed to barely open his eyes, letting a few small flickers of crimson escape before closing them again.

Sideswipe protested, "Dude! Our energon supply is already low, and you're going to waste what we have on a 'Con?"

Notch ignored him as he picked up the first cube with one hand and lifted the sicklier captive's head with the other. Being weak, the 'Con could only manage a slight twitch of his battered shoulders as a reaction to the touch.

"We will be arriving at Optimus's coordinates soon," Notch finally replied, though he kept his gaze on his 'patient', "Once we do, we can replenish our resources."

He touched the cube to the Decepticon's lips, but the small 'Con twitched his head away, obviously not processing the glowing, blue mass before him as energon.

The guard watched silently as the 'can-barely-call-himself-a-medic' managed to push the edge of the cube past the prisoner's lips and get him to drink its content. The 'Con hesitantly responded with slow, weak gulps that hastened as he realized what he was drinking. Halfway through the fourth cube, Sideswipe could hear the 'Con's engines roar to life.

Wait… He could _hear _engines?

The temporary guard looked away from the prisoner's tattered face to see that his chest plates were wide open, exposing his starved spark chamber and insides. Somehow Notch had opened his 'patient's' chest plates without –seemingly- either other mech noticing.

The tiny flutter of light was painful to see. On top of that, the mech had more scars and dents than the guard had ever seen; all stuffed onto a small, shivering body…

"_bleh~" _shaking his head, the Guard tried thinking of something less involved with sympathy. Let's see here… ah yes!

The sparkling! _She_ was the reason these two were even on this ship, for had that not been the case, this mech would still be in that frozen wasteland and likely offline.

A weak, husky voice over the comm. link interrupted the guard's thoughts. :**_Sideswipe, Notch. We are approaching our destination, prepare the captives for transport_**_._:

"Yes sir." The immediate reply came in unison.

The medic in training placed his tools back in their casings and closed the captive's chest plates while the makeshift guard released his binds and sat the limp body up. Cuffs, identical to the ones binding the slim Decepticon's wrists, were placed on his presumed companion's own.

Meanwhile, on the bridge, the ship was being prepped for a landing by the captain and Delta second command. As the ship lowered to the ground, making trees lean away and twigs, rocks, and leaves fly to safety, a green mass of brilliance sprouted before it. Three bots were spat out of its center; a small, blue femme, a yellow mech, and finally the magnificent, blue and red armored figure standing tall among his fellow Autobot soldiers.

Sorry the chapters are so short! I'll try to make it longer next time

Plz reveiw!

PLEASE.

LIKE

SDFIBDIOBLVKVUIFEWLS


	3. Dead Dreams

_"Zero, I advise that you not waste your time, he's just a polar body. He'll go offline within the week."_  
><em>"Give him another pulse, Sharkeye; that's an order."<em>

_*_

_"He's so tiny~ Have you named him yet?"_  
><em>"As if he should have one..."<em>  
><em>"No, not yet."<em>  
><em>chirrr?<em>

_*_

_"Guess you're a sparkling sitter now," _  
><em>"No one else wants to care for him. Not even Redcut."<em>  
><em>"Can't you just order him to?"<em>  
><em>"Redcut is a Caretaker; they're not under my authority."<em>  
><em>Why are you doing this?"<em>  
><em>"..., It's... personal."<em>  
><em>Chiiiiiiiii~!<em>

_*_

_"His optics are open!"_  
><em>"Hmhmhm. Red and bright like Cybertron's third moon."<br>CHIIIIII!~  
>Chiiiiiirrrrriiii~! Click! Clclclclclcl-cl-cl-cl-cl-cl-cl-kkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKkkkkkk!<br>"Why ain't he the little boombox."_

_*_

_"Whitestrike and Lightcore keep fighting; they're getting too big for this, something'll get broken sooner or later."_

_"Zero, please, take it somewhere else. It's distracting the little ones."  
>"I heard they started talking."<br>"Yes."  
>"He's started talking too."<br>"Zeeeee-ROooooooo!*click*"_

_*  
>"Siyaw!"<br>"Yes my little spark?"  
>"Whas ran?"<br>"It's water that comes down from the sky."  
>Chii?<br>"Let me show you."_

_*  
>CHIIIII!<br>"SIWA!"  
>"Lightcore STOP! You're hurting him!"<em>

_*  
>"He needs another spark merge."<br>"Shhhh little one. We've done this before. It's not going to hurt."  
>Chir...<em>

_*  
>"He's blind Zero."<em>

_"That's right, one leg in front of the other, just like that."  
>"Wha a vu?"<br>"Just follow my voice."_

_"Di eye vu goo*click*od?"  
>"Wonderful, my little spark."<br>Chiirrp~!  
>"I'm so proud of you<em>

_"Zeeeeeeeerrroooooooo*click*!"  
>"Yes?"<br>"I waavuuu~"  
>"... I love you too, my little spark..."<em>

_"You said he wouldn't last a week. It's been five years."_

_*_

_"Go on, touch 'em."  
>"No! I don wanna touch him. You touch 'em."<br>"You two are a pair of glitch heads."  
>"Quit pushing me!"<br>"I'll push you as much as I want!"  
>"Lightcore! Whitestrike!"<br>"Sorry Redcut."  
>"Silent Glide called me a glitsh-head!"<br>"Like anyone cares."  
>"Why don't you four play a game or something?"<br>"Pruin's too small to play _our _games."  
>"Unless he wants to get crushed."<br>"To be honest, I don't care, just quit fighting all the time."_

_*_

_"Commander! Spend some time with us pleeeeaaase!"  
>"You're always messing around with that polar body."<br>"That polar body is your brother Lightcore."  
>"Eww... He's still just a pobo though."<br>"Do not call him that."_

*

"_Sire?"  
>"Yes?"<br>"Why do the others dislike me?"_

_"..."  
>"I'll have to explain it to you in the morning. Get some rest little one."<br>"Goodnight."_

_*  
>"...Polar bodies are formed by a glitch in the spark-splitting process meant to create twins, triplets or even more. However, the spark fragment, the polar body, rarely develops into a sparkling, and even if it does, they often offline as soon as they are removed from their carriers."<br>"S-so..I-i was a mista-"  
>"Know this my son-shh don't cry- you may have been unexpected, but you are not unwelcomed...I named you Pruin Ari after the honors companion given to heroes, known as prunes to Decepticons and pruins to Autobots. They symbolize good luck, resilience, selflessness, and strong will."<br>"...Y-you...think I am.. strong?"  
>"As strong as your heart is pure, my little one."<em>

_"...Core tempereature is going too high... breathe Pruin! Breathe!... ventalation systems failing... electrical misrout..."_

_"...another spark merge..."_

_"Si-...i-...re-... wh-..a-...t's-...w-...ro-...n-..g... w-...i-...th...me?"_

_"My little spark..."  
>"...vocal servos have been impaired...the nerves connecting to the processor have fried."<em>

_"I told you this would happen, Commander; his body is shutting down piece by piece. You should've just let him be."_

_*  
>"You'll be fine."<em>

_*  
>"Play with <em>us_!"  
>"not now,"<em>  
><em>*<em>  
><em>"Comander? Zero! Oh, Thank Primus we've found someone like you! We need your help sir! The Autobots! They've overwhelmed us and have driven us far back to this region. We've been a bunch of squabbling prunlings against them!"<em>  
><em>"Captain..."<br>_"_We've already lost two crews, at this rate we'll be wiped out!"_  
><em>"I'll be there with reinforcements soon. Stand by for our arrival via the space bridge."<em>  
><em>"We thank you sir!"<em>

_*_  
><em>"No-..o! Y-...o-..uc-... an-... tl-... ea-...v!"<em>

_"Pruin Ari... I cannot abandon them, and I cannot take you with me."_  
><em>"Pl-...ea-..ea-...s..."<em>  
>"Forgive me..."<br>_*_  
><em>"You're big bad sire isn't here to pamper you anymore ya lil' squirt."<em>  
><em>"Looks like you're on your own."<em>

_*  
>"Congragulations! Silent Glide and Lightcore, you've just passed your first unit in battle traning. Whitestrike you need a little longer, but you're all on your way to being fine warriors!"<em>

_"Ha! You think you can be a warrior of the Decepticon army? A polar body could never be something like that, you'd shame the whole unit. The best you'll ever manage is a servant; a dump-class drone."_

_chi..._

_"Congratulations!..."_

_"Why is the ship slowing down?!"  
>"It-uh, was Pruin! He fell into the engine while he was-er, doing something with it."<em>

_"That glitch can't even pick something out of a crack in the wall without messing everything up!"  
>"Just stay in this room until I find something to do with you."<br>"B-...ut..."  
>"Shut up; you don't get to speak unless spoken to."<em>

_*  
>" Primus you're a mess. Wipe all that leakage off before you infect someone."<em>

_*  
>"It's been 24 freakin' years... they're not coming back, stupid."<em>

_Sire... what has become of you?_

_"Quit messing up everything, pobo! Every time you try to fix something all you do is make it worse! You're nothing but a mistake, and that's all you'll every be. I can't see why Zero ever wasted his time on you!"_

_I'm sorry brother..._

_What is that noise?  
>There's something wrong...the fifth pod...I't been damaged this whole time...<br>__**Preservation pod failure. Deactivating.  
><strong>__Chirp~!  
>ChiiiiP~!<br>Hello little one...  
>Chiirp~! *clclclclclclclcclclc*<br>Are you hungry?  
>Ckckckckckckckkckckckckkck!<br>"S-ta..ay-...he-..ee-...r-..."_

_"...Go down there and harvest the energon then!..."  
>"There are AUTOBOTS guarding that energon... were're not a war unit, Lightcore, we can't risk-"<br>"__**That's why you've got US, now isn't it?"  
><strong>__ "Unhand me!.. St-stop... that hurts!"_

_"How about, since this sad excuse for a captain is too much of a coward to go down there, I go ahead and take charge of the cargo carrier."  
>"You can't do that Lightco-Ahn! Okay!"<br>"Anyone got a problem with that?"  
>"Whitestrike and I will head down within the minute."<br>"What about me?"  
>"You need to stay here Silent Glide, in case these aft-heads slag-out on us. And go clean yourself up Nefter, you're leaking all over the place."<em>

_*_

_"...This is all your fault Redcut!... Caretaker my aft!"  
>"I wasn't supposed to have had them after they were revived, be glad I took care of 'em at all!"<em>

_"Back with an aft-load of energon!"  
>"And the Autobots."<br>"What?"  
>"We figured since you were so worried about them scrapping us, Nefter, we thought we'd just go ahead and take them prisoner and interrogate them."<br>"For what?"  
>"The pass-codes to the stock of energon they've already mined you glitch-head..."<em>

_"Lock them in the cargo bay."_

_"Hey!"_

_"Yeah you! Wouldn't happen t'have a key-card would ya?"  
>"Jazz, are you really that bored?"<br>"Shh!"  
>"I-I...d-..do-...nt-..."<br>"You're pretty small for a Traveler."  
>"How can you tell he's a Traveler?"<br>"He looks just like one!"  
>"Hey, you're a Traveler aren'chya?"<br>"...y-ye-...s...s-..ir..."  
>"Did he seriously just call you 'sir'?"<br>"C'mon Ironhide, ain't nothin' wrong with have'n a lil' manners."  
>"Why are you talking to that runt?"<br>"Maybe he'll help us."  
>"Glitch-head."<br>"Say, how old are you lil'con?"_

_"..ah-..."  
>"C'mon, I won't bite'cha."<br>"Th-...ir-..ty-...f-...fo-...ur... s-...ir."  
>"... Ah'm sorry, didn't catch ya."<br>"He said thirty-four you idi- wait what?"  
>"You sure?"<br>"That's impossible!"  
>"I-im...s-...ure... s-...ir."<em>

_"He's just'a kid!"  
>"Like Smokers over here, heh,"<br>"Okay, I am way older than that, Ironhide. Don't even."  
>"Maybe you two can go prance off into<em>_destiny together!"  
>"That's not funny!"<br>"Hahahaa!"  
>"What's ya name lil'con?"<br>"...mhm..."  
>"You really expect him to tell you that?"<br>"He told me his age."  
>"You're plain glitched if you honestly believe that. Maybe he meant go slag off."<br>"How'bout I tell ya first. They call me Jazz. This mech beside me is Ironhide, then Smokescreen, and finally Prowl sleep'n o'er there."  
>"Who ever told you I was sleeping?"<br>"Or meditate'n or whatever."_

_"See? He's not gonna tell you."  
>"M-m-...y-...n-...ae-...m...i-...P-...ru-...i-...n...A-..ri,... s-...ir."<br>"What's wrong with your voice? And why are your eyes blue?"  
>"I...-"<br>"Nevermind. Don't answer that. 'Cause something tells me it'll take a really long time."  
>"Shh! Someone's comming!"<em>

_"Hey where's he going?"  
>"Shut your trap Smokescreen!"<em>

_"What a disappointment. Hang him up; take down the small one. And use the prod this time."  
>"Yes, Lightcore."<br>"Make haste, I don't want them getting too bold."  
>"Yes sir."<em>

_No, shhh, not too, fast, you'll choke.  
>Chirp!<br>Chiiiiiiiiiii~  
>shhh...<em>

_*_

_"Ahhhm fine k-kid... just a few leaks...ah... notin' mah repair systems can't... can't p-patch-..."_

_"..."  
>"Why would you care?"<br>"That's Pruin Ari. He's a mechling."  
>"Like you?"<br>"Tch!"  
>"Why don't you say 'Hi', Hound?"<em>

_"Uh... Hi... I guess."  
>"I...ts..n-n...i...ce...to...m...ee...t...y...yu... s-...ir."<br>"Did he just call me sir?"  
>"Hey look! His optics are red now!"<br>"Quit yelling Smokescreen. Are you forgetting that we're prisoners?"  
>"I kind did, Prowl."<br>"Typical. Look, how about instead of chatting with an enemy, we actually focus on getting out of here?"  
>"Can we keep him?"<em>

_"Now's not the time to BOTHER me pobo!"  
>Ah! No please! You're hurting me!<br>"Your brother embarrassed me in front of everyone and just took over in a mere second! That stupid kid is gonna get us all fragged but everyone's too afraid of him to say anything! He think's he's so special, and right now, I just want to frag everything with his face on it... oh how unfortunate for you."_

_"You're miserable here... aren't ya, kid?"_

_*_

_"...PRUIN!...YOU LITTLE TRAITOR!"_  
><em>"C'mon kid! The ship is taking off!"<em>  
><em>"They're charging weapons!"<em>  
><em>"Pruin!"<em>  
><em>"Let's go Jazz!"<em>

_"*Chirp*"_  
><em>*<em>  
><em>"You little <em>_**parasite! **__Redcut is DEAD because of you! You killed our Caretaker!"_  
><em>"There'll be no getting those codes now. Our systems are damaged and engines are down. All of this for what? A few pats on the head? A compliment and a friendly smile? THIS IS WAR! And the enemy will do and say anything to get their way! Or are you too slow to realize that?"<em>  
><em>"..."<em>  
><em>"<em>**Say something! You worthless waste of energon!"**

_All I wanted was to leave... maybe then I could stop bothering everyone..._  
><em>stop messing up everything. <em>  
><em>"Lock him in the cargo bay, Whitestrike... I'll deal with him later..."<em>  
><em>"What about the Autobots? They're getting away, they've gotta pay for this!"<em>  
><em>"Shut it! Do what I told you, or would you like a beating too?!"<em>

_*_  
><em>:Energon percentage under 10% and decreasing:<em>  
><em>:Fatal wound; deploying internal repair systems:<em>  
><em>:Internal repair systems unresponsive:<br>If I could just make it a little wider...  
>:Shutting down:<em>  
><em>:Entering emergency stasis:<em>  
><em>*<em>  
><em>**<em>  
><em>***<em>

_:Energy levels 40% and rising:_

_:Emergency stasis inturrupted:_  
><em>:Cause: unknown:<br>_"...Dude! We're already low on stock, and now you're gonna wast what we have on some scrap-yard find? He's a 'Con!..."

*

"Is he going to be alright?"  
>"I think so... Ratchet?"<br>"I need to remove all of this degraded plating, and maybe replace it. How much energon did you give him?"  
>"Four cubes sir, but he's still only at 40%"<br>"He probably hasn't refueled for a while or leaked severly before he went into stasis. You did a good job clamping the leak shut until he got to me."

He'd didn't recognize their voices when he'd come to, nor their EM fields. This couldn't be a part of his dreams of the past.  
>His entire body ace with soreness, trembling with pain. But the agony, the <em>true<em> agony was stuck in his head. Why was he alive? Who were these bots? And why had they saved him?

He'd given up on life long ago. His worth not worth looking for any longer.

***  
>"Are you sure he's even alive Ratchet? His lights may be on but the house looks pretty wrecked to me."<br>"Sh! Bulkhead he's waking."  
>Arcee's morning had an unexpected flip today, first she awakens to barbaric shouting and ruckus thinking they were under attack. Then, she enters the main room to be surrounded by strangers acting like they were drunk at a bar. She'd looked to 'Bee for a hint but all he gave was a confuzed buzz and a shrug.<p>

"Anyone want to tell us what's going on?" asked the two-wheeler as she entered the sick-bay.  
>"Arcee! What are you two doing up so early?"<br>"You really expect anyone to be able to recharge with all that noise?"  
>Ratchet gave a mumble of agreement.<br>There were two Autobots standing around him; a tall, orange and white femme with half-lidded optics, and a much smaller mech-white and creme in color- with wide, round and alert optics that were too awkward to look at for too long.

She and the two held an awkward gaze until she finally introduced herself, "I'm Arcee by the way."  
>"Echo," the femme replied.<br>"Notch," added the mech.

"Where's Magnus?" The two-wheeler's tone could've been taken as an order.  
>"He's Finding a place to hide the war cruiser they came in."<br>:Who's that?: 'Bee chimed in, pointing briefly at the small, withered mech Ratchet was sitting up.  
>"We do not know, Bumblebee. No one knows, but he may be able to answer our questions."<p>

The nameless mech sat with blank, emotionless optics, heavy and tired looking, and _red_, like the flickering biolights on his tattered crest. The face plating around his right optic was torn with crusted energon dashed around it. Arial wings on his back hung low and twisted, and _dirty; _his entire body looked like a greasy train-wreck. Shivering.

:So he's a Decepticon?:  
>"Yes, probably, but I don't see an insignia anywhere." The medic tilted the nameless mech's helm up to get a better look at his optics. They seemed to gaze aimlessly through Ratchet's neck.<br>"I don't think he can see."  
>Taking out a small flashlight, Ratchet turned it on and abruptly aimed it towards the mech's blank optics. He blinked, as if irritated, but didn't direct his optics in another direction, nor did he squint, but his optics did dilate.<p>

"It's probably the data feed-lines to his imaging processor." turning the light off and sitting it down, the Medic then carefully directed an inquiry towards his patient, "What is your name?"

At first he didn't respond, but then a weak, husky rasp came out as broken words and interrupted syllables.  
>"Voice box is damaged too." mumbled the medic.<p>

"Sounds like he said Prune Arti," said Echo, if Arcee remembered the name correctly. Her tone was relaxed and mumbly. Shifting a little, her left arm-which had been locked with her elbow point to the ceiling- swung around to sit a-WHOA!  
>Ratchet jumped, almost shouting when the loud <em>THOOSH <em>of Echo's ridiculously large cannon-like weapon hit the floor of the sick-bay. A shudder from the floor ran up Arcee's legs the thing had been so heavy.

"Oh, 'poligize about that."

Just the fact that she hadn't sat it down until now, let Arcee know that they knew arrivals hadn't been here long.  
>Ratchet let out a small huff of hot air through his vents before returning his attention to the 'Con.<p>

"Anyways, so is that your name? Prune Arti? dear Primus I hope it's not "  
>The mech shook his head and Ratchet groaned at the idea of having to ask again. "Tell me again, this time, sound out each letter independently."<p>

Jumbles of static came after a long pause, then, slowly, AGONIZINGLY SLOWLY, the sounds came out, "P-...r-...u-...i-...n...-...A-...r-...i."  
>"Pruin Ari?"<br>A nod. _yes!  
><em>"What is the last thing you remember, Pruin Ari?"

Another pause. A pause so long the medic was tempted to just leave back to his quarters and go back to the recharge he had so obediently left when Magnus had called for him; but he held his frustration back except for a small twitch of his optic ridge.  
>When the reply came, the words were empty almost dead except for a small hint of disappointment: "D-...y-...ng..."<p>

There was a moment of silence before a loud disturbance burst from the wreck room accompanied by howls of laughter. Immediately after, a small, black mech, smaller than Arcee herself with wheels gliding him across the floor, baring a frame-shape and pair of icy-blue optics of striking resemblance to Bumblebee's own, walked, or rather _rolled _in with faceplates not even trying to mask his fury.

"Echo, will you PLEASE tell those glitched bafoons to not crush everything in their wide path?!"


	4. Lost Leaders

A/N:  
>AHCK<br>The last chapter ended kind of ... i dunno sudden  
>too cut-offy<br>so I'll just start...

"What do you mean?" the large orange and white femme asked as she left her weapon behind to assist her crewmate, "What did they do? Step on you?"

"They _fell_ on me!"  
>The black mech rolled his way back out, his pedes were wheelies, with his wings flattened to his back as Echo followed him.<p>

"That's the Captain apparently," Ratchet told Arcee and Bumblebee.  
>"How long have they been here?" the motorcycle asked, though slightly distracted by Ratchet's shivering patient.<br>The Ambulance was already engrossed in observing wounds and dents, not seeming to have heard her at all.  
>"Ratchet?"<br>?.: Bumblebee tapped at the the larger mech's arm. Ratchet jumped, "W-WHAt? What do you want?"  
>It was when he looked directly at them that Arcee noticed the dimness of his optics. "How long have you been up? It's six in the morning."<p>

"U-um.. I don't know... 5 hours?"  
>Bumblebee let out a low buzz, .:<p>

Their attention was broken by the voice of their current leader as he walked in in all his blue and red glory. "Ratchet, have the crew passed for combat?" there was a hastiness in his tone.

"Yes...wh- you're not going to send them out _now_ are you?" the ambulance seemed just a little peeved as he stared directly into Ultra Magnus's optics.

"We now have the element of surprise with our force now doubled, doctor," The commander stated, "We need to take advantage of that, and strike as soon as we can."

Arcee could see a million and one things going wrong, but when Magnus decided something, there was no altering the universe's fate.  
>"Ya got anything in mind?"<p>

***

Nemesis-

Soundwave in all his thin and silent glory had notified Megatron of the Autobot ship that entered sensor proximity of the Nemesis, as well as a Decepticon ship. The warlord immediately went and welcomed the newcomers with a toothy grin that had dissolved into an almost horrified frown as soon as a large mech, black as night, was herded out of the vessel in cuffs, muzzles, and chains by his shipmates. Although he was most certainly one of their own, with a Decepticon insignia and a face Megatron had never forgotten, his optics were... _maniacal, darting around. _He stood hunched in fear, shuffling gradually in the direction he was being led to with rebellious snarls, hisses and growls. An energon-lubricant mixture leaked from his mouth in steady streams leaving a messy trail on the floor; glaring teeth and spines were unsheathed in a threatening display.

"What has happened to my former trainee, Doctor?" The warlord's tone was calm, but his faceplates were twisted with rage and displeasure. The doctor, a dark-blue and white femme, answered without turning her weapon away from the deranged commander, "He's been infected with a neurological virus, my liege. He gets like this every once in a while, but complies for the most part,"

The Traveler suddenly snapped at one of the crew-members, who quickly scooted out of range of his commander's powerful jaws; fearful despite the restraints.

"Don't get too close!" the Doctor snapped before turning back to the Warlord, "It would be best if the others not see him in such a condition as we move to the sick-bay."

"Understood, doctor." Megatron was outraged. He ground his teeth and clenched his fist in an attempt to release some of his anger without triggering an all-out blood-bath. Zero had been one of the very few he fought closely with, and one of the even fewer he'd actually liked! And now after all these years, one of his two prized pupils returns to him in such a disgraceful image.

Once he'd cleared the path to the sick-bay he led them quickly with vents practically steaming until they exploded within the realm of their destination.

"Who is responsible for this?!" He roared. "I want their heads ripped from their neck servos!" his arms swoop through the air with a motion resembling that very action. How dare they!?  
>"Lord Megatron I advise you not to shout, it'll only make the situation worse."<p>

Zero tensed. His optics darted around in panic, flickering between red and a sickly green-blue color as his captors stepped warily towards him. His tail thrashed in warning, a signal they seemed to recognize, but they continued to inch closer. Finally, the deranged Traveler had snapped once more when a servo had brushed his back where his arms were restrained. His entire backside spiked out, tail swooping to hurt, as Zero barked and snarled viciously. The restraints kept him from transforming. His jaws, though bound with chains, were able to open just a little, and that's all he needed.

The entire team had to jump on their commander and pin him to the ground in an almost failed struggle. Three stuns had to be administered just to get the commander down to a twitch; even so, his eyes were still wild with panic and chest still heaving as they dragged his now limp body onto a berth and lock his wrists in.

"Irestorm will be most displeased to hear of this," Megatron growled.

"Who?" one of the crew members asked, but the warlord ignored her, and left the sic-bay.  
>She probably already was.<p>

***

:I_restorm, where are you?: _Megatron ordered through the comm-link.  
>The reply was quick :<em>on the launch platform milord,:<em>

She likely knew there had been something wrong with her brother long before he arrived. When Megatron arrived, she was standing alone, back straight as always, with her arms folded behind her stiff back. Her helm was tilted towards the sky, where the moon still resided, and her tail was dead still. She was a nightly statue barely distinguishable among the dark clouds.

"His systems have been corrupted, I am aware," she told him softly.

Megatron frowned, "I am hoping this... _predicament _will not effect your future performance."

"No my liege, of course not."

"Then I want you to keep a closer eye on Orion Pax for me. He's been acting suspiciously as of late. Perhapse it will take your mind off of your brother."

"Yes, milord." She turned her head just enough to for him to see the red or her optic as she replied. Then with smooth, perfect movement, turned and walked past him until the doors opened and closed behind her.  
>She'd been looking in the direction towards their homeworld.<p>

The memories that flooded back were almost painful.

***

"How are you fairing in your decoding Orion?" Irestrom asked as she entered the archivists station.  
>He turned and nodded in greeting, "I am a bit rustier than I thought. I've only managed to decode three entries." his voice was deep and rich. She was surprised how innocent the Autobot leader had been before he'd become a Prime. She could see it in his optics; hope, kindness, and mercy. It was almost uplifting and a bit adorable.<p>

"Perhaps I will be able to assist you, I have experience in dealing with encrypted material." she came up beside him, scanning over the data entries and the work Orion had already done. He'd made a few mistakes.  
>"You do?"<p>

"Yes, Lord Megatron taught me himself."

***

Decepticon mining operation:

:_you sure this'll work? It seems stupid:_  
><em>:C'mon Groundfaze, since when has Ultra Magnus done something stupid?:<em>  
><em>:Since he disappeared:<em>  
><em>:Delta crew, are you in position?: Magnus had cut in<em>  
><em>:Locked in sir.:<em>  
><em>:Then let us begin:<em>

Echo cut the transmission and set her sniper canon to wide range. Zooming in on the operation sight, she could see Groundfaze sneaking his way towards one of the drones on guard. He quickly snatched him back into the dark. No one else noticed.  
>This was the part where he was supposed to get the Nemisis to send a groundbridge outside of the mining sight.<p>

Looking around Echo, spotted three soldiers over seeing the operation. One was a purely white Traveler, one a blue mech with an orange face, and the third one was Dreadwing, the well-known fan of Megatron. She didn't see his twin around though, so that was good.

:_We've got three mechs on guard: none of them seem to have noticed anything: _she reported to everyone.

:_the ground bridge has opened at our location, good work Groundfaze: M_agnus reported, :_let's make this quick and quiet. I want to be out with Optimus in no more than seven minutes:_

The transmission was cut off; the Delta crew was left guarding the bridge.

***

A/N:

Reveiw please!


End file.
